Friday, May 9, 2008

As far as white tablecloth restaurants go, this simple wine and butter sauce is probably made more often than any other sauce recipe. The wine can be red, white, or blush (we used to call it rosé back when no one liked it), and the technique has basically remained unchanged since it burst onto the culinary landscape during the “Nouvelle” cuisine movement of the1970s.

Nouvelle cuisine is French for "new cuisine." This style was a reaction to the classic “Haute” cuisine ("high cooking"). It focused on lighter, and more delicate dishes, without the traditional, heavy, flour-based sauces. One of the darlings of this new style was a butter sauce called “beurre blanc,” a simple reduction of wine and vinegar, finished with whole butter.

This sauce is incredibly versatile, and very simple to make. Below this beurre blanc video recipe is another version that uses red wine, called "beurre rouge." It's a pretty old clip that I posted last year, so it's a little rough around the technical edges. Here's the link in case you want to read the original recipe, and get the ingredient list. Enjoy!UPDATE: CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO!

Made this last night with some scallops (per the pic). Delicious.I usually double sauce recipes when making them as I find myself always wanting more (no, I'm not one that likes to drown my food in sauces. But... well... maybe I do...) Anyways, I doubled it and boy is my cardiologist happy. Waaaay to much for anyone who wants to live past 40 years old. Just follow Chef John amounts and you'll be happy.

I would also play with the acids too. I think I added a touch too much vinegar. Some lemon juice sounds like a good idea.

As for it keeping, I concur. It's butter, and you'll be reminded of that the next day when you try and "resurrect" it.Make it and enjoy it fresh and thank Chef John that you did.

Chef John: I want to thank you sincerely for these excellent recipes and instructional videos. I enjoy your witty use of humor that makes cooking a little less scary. There are a few recipes that prior to your videos, I would not have really tried. I look forward to more of your instructional videos and browsing your site.